


In the Dirt

by The_PrincessCat



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: A week of camping, Alstor Slough, Cape Caem, Gen, Longwythe, M/M, Malmalam Thicket, Nebula Wood, Ravatough, Vannath Coast, Vesper Pool, gladio's birthday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:20:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23386522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_PrincessCat/pseuds/The_PrincessCat
Summary: For Gladio's birthday, the boys decided to give him anything he wanted. Gladio said he wanted noodles every night and a week of camping. He has a map, a plan, and a week where he can get anything he wants with his birthday smack in the middle of it! The best way to this honey eyed boys heart is with a bag full of Coleman gear and a stomach full of noods.Day one, they are in Longwythe. When there is dirt, dirt and more dirt, and a race on the line, who will be rubbing the big guys feet?
Kudos: 4





	1. Longwythe

**Author's Note:**

> I got a couple of prompts from a discord server I am in since there isn't an official event surrounding my favorite boy. So, I made one for myself. Day one of Gladio week is prompt Longwythe. I am hoping that this fic set mirrors similarly to my specs week fic 'The Specs of it All'. DO enjoy!

The sun was high in the sky when Ignis pulled the Regalia into the parking space near Longwythe peak. The wind was picking up as they climbed out of the car and Gladio stood, stretching out his back. 

Leide was dry, relatively silent and dusty. It was a vast contrast to the tall sky risers and busy, noisy streets. Many people would complain, but Gladio had a large smile across his features as he looked at the endless nothingness all around. 

“Do we have to walk?” The vehement complaining of Prompto came just moments after the doors had closed, causing a soft chuckle to come from Gladio’s lips. 

“You are aware that it was not required for you to accompany us on this trip, correct?” Ignis pressed his glasses up his nose as he made sure that the Regalia was locked and the keys were securely placed in his pocket. 

“Yeah, but-” Prompto sighed, straightening himself as he looked over at Noctis, who was uncharacteristically quiet. 

“Are you positive this is what you wish for for your birthday?” Ignis had shifted his attention from the prince and his friend to Gladio. 

“A week full of camping? Hells yeah! Whatever I want for dinner, are you kidding? It’s like a dream.” Gladio smirked, finding what he had been looking for over the horizon. The faint blue wisps of the haven were almost impossible to see in the midday light, but to his trained eye... he was able to find them with little issue. 

“As you wish.” Ignis straightened, and they started following Gladio towards the camp site. 

“So, you have any fishing spots on your tour list?” Noctis had finally caught up, being just one step behind his Shield now. 

“Hmmm,” Gladio smiled, honeyed eyes shooting behind him. “Maybe? Who knows, might just be doin’ a tour a Leide. Dust dust and more dust. Gotta catalogue it for future generations.” 

Noctis groaned loudly, slowing his pace for a moment as Gladio let out a booming laugh. 

“Yeah, I got a list. Here.” Gladio lazily pulled the map from the Armiger, tossing it back at the Prince as they walked. 

“Oh, got some coast on there.” Nocits smirked, his entire persona changing now and his storm clouded eyes sparkled with joy. 

“I do love falling asleep to the sounds of waves crashing against the shore.” Gladio smiled, seeing the large rock plateau come into view. 

“Hey. Since it is my birthday, last person to the haven has to rub my feet.” Gladio cast a glance behind him as in the span of a heart beat, all four of them took off, except for the second longer it had taken Prompto to realize what exactly was at stake. It was with wide eyes that the sharp shooter found himself sorely disadvantaged.

As it was, Ignis and Noctis beat out Gladio which had left Prompto in the dust and the last of the four to make it to the haven. In all honesty, Gladio had never seen either Ignis or Noctis move that quickly, and as Noctis flopped over onto the cool rock, chest heaving, Gladio laughed again. 

“So, I guess I know what motivates you two!”

The rest of the day was spent with Gladio and Ignis making camp and the younger two out foraging for a very specific list of ingredients given to them by Ignis.    
  


“So we are having a different kind of noodle soup every day? Catered to the area we are staying in?” Gladio sat down on his Coleman camping chair, watching as Ignis made a few annotations in his cooking journal before closing the well worn book and looking back over at the man. 

“Correct. Unless you have any objections to the suggestion, I have been doing research all month to cater the meals to your liking.” Ignis placed his gloved hands on his crossed knees, emerald eyes meeting Gladio’s with a faint smirk. 

“You went through all that effort for me?” Gladio smirked, looking west towards the sun in its slow began to fall. 

“Of course. However, if the other two don’t hurry back soon, I fear they might have been lost to a wild Anak attack.” Ignis shifted into a seated position, preparing to stand if need be. 

“I am sure they are fine.” Gladio said, eyes watching as the sky started to shift in colors, soft oranges and pinks playing against the mild cloud cover. 

  
And if it wasn’t a moment too soon, the sounds of Prompto laughing came up to the plateau. 

“See. Told you so.” 

“Now, I get to see if they can follow instructions well or not.” Ignis stood, brushing his hands on his pant legs as he moved over to his portable kitchen in the wild.    
  


It seemed that they had indeed found the proper ingredients and as Ignis began cooking the Leiden pepper udon, Gladio peeled off his boots and offered them to Prompto. 

“Do I have to?” The words were elongated and received a full body laugh from Gladio. 

“That was the deal.” Gladio wiggled his toes, and Prompto shot a look at Noctis as if the man could get him out of it. 

“Dude. Maybe you should live up to your name. Prompt-o.” Noctis chuckled, summoning his phone from the armiger and starting to play King’s Knight. 

“Ugh. No fair dude!” Prompto grabbed the large foot, putting pressure in the arch, which made Gladio humm in approval. 

“At least it was now, and not in a couple days. I showered this morning. Clean feet.”

“How considerate.” Ignis commented from his place away from the other three. “Count your blessings, Prompto. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.”


	2. Nebula Wood/Alstor Slough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Why do we have to find these Mushrooms?"  
> "They are part of an old recipe for Ramen. I promise you, they will make this meal." 
> 
> Day two of Gladio week and they are on the hunt for a very special Ingredient.

“Ignis!” Noctis called out as a group of Voretooth surrounded them. Fluidly, Ignis summoned dagger after dagger, launching the blades hilt deep into the beasts. Noctis flurried through the battlefield, using said daggers to slash and cut at each of them in turn. 

“Gladio!” As his name was called out, the other stood back. In one large arch, Gladio made contact with the remaining Voretooth, staggering a few to the point that the others could take them out in mere moments. 

Prompto managed to make the final blow, the last of the beasts heaving and collapsing into the grass. 

Gladio smirked, seeing the haven near the water just in the distance. “I really hope this ‘rare mushroom is worth it.” 

“Oh, I assure you that without this mushroom the meal will be highly incomplete.” Ignis pulled out his notebook, looking at it for a long moment before he pointed in the opposite direction of the haven. 

“There should be a patch of them over that way.” Gladio followed Ignis’s fingers to find that almost exactly where he was pointing was a large beast. Large, being the key word. Catoblepas were beyond any size comparison that Gladio could think of. Many people described him as large, but this beast stood over 150 feet tall, and resembled something more of a moving mountain than a creature. 

“Ya know, I have a lot of confidence in our abilities. However, I don’t think that we can take out that.” Gladio pointed at the Catoblepas. 

“Uh, I’m gonna have to agree with the big guy. That thing is massive!” Prompto exclaimed. “If we go over there, not only will Gladio not see his birthday, neither will any of us! I do  _ not _ have a death wish. Noct?”

“I mean, he looks pretty friendly? I’ve woken Ignis up without coffee before. Can’t be much scarier than that, right?” Noctis laughed, awkward as Ignis shot him a dirty look. 

“I assure you, Catoblepas are docile unless you plan on messing with them or they have gone rabid. If that was the case, you would be able to tell that from here. This ingredient is of the utmost importance.” Ignis shifted, pushing his glasses up his nose before crossing his arms. 

“Well, you guys heard him. Lets go.” Gladio dropped his great sword, the beast of a thing disintegrating back into the Armiger. 

“Hey, if we die Iggy, can you write this down to put on my grave?” Prompto cleared his throat as they started off towards the spot that Ignis had originally pointed out. “Prompto Argentum. A man of many talents. He warned Ignis not to do it, but as always, no one listened and they all died.

“Do you think that is too long to put on a gravestone?” Prompto laughed as Noctis pushed him. 

“You’re not going to die, dork.” Noctis rolled his eyes, the two of them leading the way downhill towards the water’s edge. 

“I believe, for once, our Prince may be correct.” Ignis pulled out the notebook all his cooking recipehs were contained within and he made a quick annotation as they moved down the hill. 

  
“We are looking for a slightly marshy area with heavy tree cover. The mushrooms have large caps and come in clusters of five or six.” Ignis once again closed the book, emerald eyes scanning the area. 

“Okay. What is so special about these mushrooms?” Gladio’s eyes were down in the grass, noticing the extremely heavy tracks from the many beasts that frequented the watering hole. 

“Well, you will find out as soon as we find them. There. You see that cluster of trees. We’ll start there.” Ignis shifted, taking the attention of the other three as they moved even closer to the Catoblepas. 

It took the better part of an hour to locate the mythical mushroom that Ignis was hell bent on finding. Prompto and Noctis did in fact not die by giant beast, and Prompto was able to take a selfie with the creature before it slowly headed off towards the center of the oblong lake. 

“Alright.” Gladio held up a large cluster of the mushrooms, as he side eyed Ignis. “You know you’ve got a strange obsession with mushrooms. Right?” 

Ignis laughed, noticing that Prompto and Noctis had run off towards the water, Noctis saying something about there being a great big fish in the waters. 

“Well, tonight we are having Royal Mushroom Ramen. A modification of a recipe I found in the Citadel library.” Ignis and Gladio started moving back towards the haven. 

“And who let you into the Royal Library to look for new recipes?” Gladio teased, the haven in sight now. 

“Well, that will have to be my little secret.” 

As it turned out, Ignis was right, and that was one of the best Ramen Noodles Gladio had ever had. In fact, it was almost as good as Cup Noodles. 


	3. Malmalam Thicket

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why do you keep putting us in danger Ignis? Another rare ingredient to your recipie? If it wasn't for noodles, you can bet I would have been long over this! 
> 
> A Treant in the thicket and a rare truffle in the dirt. What will be next?

Thick trees and dense canopies created for a cool breeze even in the early spring air. There was a sense of mystery and wonder that was unlike anywhere else Gladio had ever been. The breeze played in the trees, forcing the leaves to dance and make music. It would have been extremely relaxing if not for-

“Ignis, why are you trying to get us all killed?” Gladio screamed as he shifted back to dodge the long tail of a Treant. 

“There was no note of this beast in my research.” Ignis claimed, blazing spell daggers guarding his face. 

For all accounts, the tactician was calm and collected as always. Prompto, however, was having a difficult time staying out of range of the Treant’s attacks. 

Gladio dove, curling as he moved to stand right before Prompto. “Hey kid. You doing alright?” 

Prompto nodded, a look of relief washing over his face. “Yeah. I got it. All good.” 

“Take this.” Gladio pulled a potion from the Armiger, handing it to the blond before shifting his attention back to the Treant. “If you need us, we're here for you, kid.” 

Gladio shifted the great sword on his shoulders and took a run towards the monster. They had to be getting close to felling the beast, Gladio wasn’t sure how much longer they would be able to keep it up if that wasn’t the case. 

“Watch yourself, Noct!” Ignis called, a large paw came down and caused Noctis to fall over. 

“I know!” Noctis stood up, shifting out of the way of the next attack. The Prince tossed his blade, warping just out of reach of the Treant’s grasp. 

“We’re sorely outmatched!” Ignis called, tossing his blades into the large monster. 

“We’ll get it!” Gladio called, taking one hefty downward swing, the beast falling backwards. 

“Prompto you’re up!” Noctis called the opening. Prompto shifted, reloading his gun before taking a point blank shot. A loud pained yell echoed through the clearing.   
  


“Impressive.” Ignis’s retort came as he sliced away at the beast, relentlessly, and they took advantage of the Treant before it found its bearings again.

“It ends now!” Noctis called, the beast was shifting to stand. “Gladio, do it!”

“Try this!” Gladio shifted, the Treant not quite on its feet yet, swinging in a giant circle. 

“Nice work, Gladio!” The Treant was now on its feet, and it was looking worse for wear. 

It swiped downward, missing but causing a wind to rustle the grass. “Put it out of its misery.”

In moments, the final blow landed and the Treant called out one last time as it collapsed in a heap. 

The four breathed heavily, the damage from the battle finally feeling like actual wounds. 

“Alright, Ignis.” Gladio huffed, using his sword to stand straight. “Now, you tell us what we’re looking for.”

Ignis cleared his throat, pulling his notebook from his pocket while simultaneously shifting the glasses up the bridge of his nose. Prompto, on the other hand, was laying on the ground, chest heaving while Noctis prodded him. 

“It looks like we are looking for a nut shaped object. It is similar in appearance to a hazelnut, however, the flavor is more similar to that of an onion or garlic. It is a very sought after delicacy, but I believe we now know why no one has come back with it en masse.” Ignis closed his book, eyes scanning around the area. 

“There.” Ignis pointed to a cluster of trees near the edge of the clearing. “We will start there. Hope you boys are ready to dig.” 

Prompto groaned, sitting up and getting to his feet with Noctis’s help. 

It took a while, but they did manage to find some of the odd reddish orange- “What did you call these things Ignis?” Noctis questioned, pulling one from the dirt and eyeing it skeptically. 

“They are Malmalam truffles.” Ignis nodded, looking in the bag where around a dozen sat. “I think we have more than enough though. I can think of plenty of uses for these beauties now that we have some.” 

Ignis put his hand to his chin, the wheels of a chief spinning fast. “Tonight’s recipeh, Malmalam Noodle Soup.” 


	4. Cape Caem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A crab, a necklace and a kiss. Gladio is, however, wondering where that relaxing birthday week has gone. Maybe next year he won't tell Ignis where they are going and they thus, they can actually just camp like normal people. 
> 
> Probably not though. Nothing is ever normal around here.

The sun was shining high in the sky, the sun was a nice glimmer against the water. All and all, it should have been peaceful. If it wasn’t for the fact that Ignis was insistent upon finding yet another rare ingredient for tonight's meal. Spicy karlabos Mohinga Soup.

The clash of metal on hard shell echoed over the rocks as they battled the giant lobster creature.

“Prompto, on your right!” Gladio called out, his frustration from task after task was starting to wear on him. What happened to the relaxing week of camping and noodles he had been promised? 

Normally Gladio would be enjoying monster hunting. Hell, they all were kind of enjoying the fighting. However, this was not exactly a relaxing week. 

Gladio was hit face first with a spray of fishy salt water. He sputtered, shifting his large shield as he caught his breath. The water pelted the shield, soaking him and shooting off onto the already slippery rocks.

“What’s with this thing?” He screamed, charging head first towards the beast. It was going to die a painful death if it was the last thing he did. 

There was a whooshing noise as Prompto pulled one of his Magitek machines from the Armiger and pulled the lobster towards him using some strange black hole technology. 

Gladio took the moment that the karlabos was stunned to take a hard downward swing. A crack echoed and he saw a chunk of the creature cascading away down the rocks and into the water. 

“Ignis!” Noctis called, and Gladio watched as Ignis pulled a set of daggers, tossing them into the creature and Noctis following with his warp strike and cutting at it, slashing it and exposing parts of the tender flesh below.

“You are a mad man, Ignis!” Gladio gruffed as he swung, the man leaping from his shoulders in an acrobatic display that was unlike anything he had seen another man do.

With one final crack, Ignis speared his lance through the karlabos head, and the creature collapsed to the ground. 

Panting, Gladio glanced at the other boys as they fell onto the sea misted stones and then looked at the large crustacean. “Let me guess, you want me to grab a particular part of this creature too?” 

Ignis, who looked as if he hadn’t even broken a sweat, grabbed the notebook and cataloged a few things before the book disappeared into his pocket once more. “If you don’t mind. I believe there are several parts of this creature that can be used for cooking. For tonight's meal, I want the tail, however.    
  


Ignis nodded, summoning one of his daggers and tossing it to Gladio with a smile. Gladio caught it, eyes narrowing as he shook his head.

“You know I am going to pay you back next year on your birthday, right?”

The tactician laughed as he started to walk off, back towards the light house on the hill. “Prompto, I am in need of your assistance. Leave Noctis and Gladio to the monstrosity. 

Prompto looked worriedly at Noctis before he nodded and stood. He called after Ignis rushing after the man, “Coming!” 

Gladio grunted, shifting the sharp blade in hand. The blade was so sharp, that Gladio was able to slip it between the shingles of the armor-like exterior and into the tender meat underneath. 

“Didn’t Ignis tell us before that just ‘cause they were bigger didn’t mean they were that good to eat? Something about flavor lost with size?” Gladio looked over at Noctis who simply shrugged.

“Wonder why Speccy left us together?” Noctis leaned lazily against the lobster, and looked at Gladio who was elbow deep in fresh meat.    
  


“I dunno, but maybe you could help?” Gladio quirked a brow at Noctis, pulling a large and perfect section of meat out, before banishing it to the Armiger. 

“Well, maybe he knows that I wanted to tell you something.” Noctis smiled, watching Gladio stick his arms back into the creature's abdomen. 

“Eww. That’s gross. You’re gonna need a shower after this!” Noctis grimaced, taking a step closer to the taller man regardless. He was nervous, and only interesting things came when Noctis was nervous.

“Alright. What do you want, Noctis?” Gladio grumbled, letting out a sight as he pulled another perfect ‘steak’ of meat out and banishing it, too, away. 

“So, you know how Ignis wears that necklace, the one I gave him a couple years ago as a birthday gift?” Noctis’s cheeks pinked a little as Gladio met his gaze. Noctis looked to the side, biting his lip as he pulled a small box from the Armiger. 

It was enough to make the taller man stop, interested in the contents of said box. “Continue.”

There was a smug grin on Gladio’s lips as he shifted closer. “So, like, maybe it isn’t the best of times, but I got you a thing.” 

Gladio laughed. “Yeah. You’re probably right. Ain’t a good time.” Gladio gestured at his arms, covered in a thick unknown liquid. “Maybe you could open it for me?”

“Oh, uh. Yeah. Right.” Noctis fumbled with the box as if it were something special, breakable. “It was supposed to be for your birthday tomorrow, but I am so bad at keeping secrets and I thought that, you know, it was close enough and-”

Gladio smiled, watching as the Prince opened the box to reveal a beaded necklace with a gold X. Gladio examined the skull beads with a smile. Noctis’s face flushed more as he continued to babble on. “I really hope you like it. ‘Cause if you don’t, we can return it and you know, get something else.”

“It's perfect.” Gladio moved, abandoning the task at hand, his hands stretched to either side of him. Without waiting for Noctis to react, he placed a kiss on the prince's cheek. “Honestly, I love it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today is Gladio's birthday. Today, Gladio says he isn't going to be doing any severe monster hunting, no digging in mud for fungis. Today. Gladio is going to relax as he watches Noctis fish. 
> 
> But what is this? It was all in Ignis's plan? Happy birthday Gladio.

“This is what we’re doing today.” Gladio pulled up a chair near Noctis’s fishing pool, a book in hand as the sun shone down bright and warm. His hand adjusted the new necklace, as he nodded definitively. “I am not fighting no Treant or some giant Karlabos. I am sitting here and reading a book while Noctis fishes. It's my birthday gods dammit.” 

Ignis nodded, sitting on the edge of the dock, pulling out his recipe book with a hum. “Yeah. That sounds fine.” The reflection from the midday sun glinted off of Ignis’s glasses, making it so that Gladio was unable to see the look underneath. 

“You’re okay with this?” Gladio quirked his brow, looking from Ignis to Noctis, who was too far into the end of the rod to even note what was going on around him. 

Prompto flopped on the deck, stretching out, looking at the pictures on his camera. “Dude.” 

When Ignis didn’t say anything, Gladio shifted back in his camping chair, and flipped open the book. “Alrighty then. This is what I’m talking about.”

And it was quiet, except for the banter back and forth from Prompto and Noctis. After a bit, Gladio finished the book, banishing the well read tome into the Armiger. 

Now what? Gladio looked at Ignis, who was playing idly on his phone, and Noctis, who had more than enough fish in a bucket to serve as dinner for whatever Ignis was plotting. Maybe it was too quiet. 

Gladio stood, stretching as he looked over the edge of the pond, seeing the sun had started its descent now, and they literally had done almost nothing all day. Just as Gladio was about to say something, Noctis shot up from his spot. 

“Yes!” Noctis exclaimed, his entire focus now on the water. 

“We got a big one!” Gladio exclaimed, eyes locked onto the massive creature now attached to the end of the line. 

In fact, Noctis’s fishing now had the attention of everyone as he pulled and reeled according to the way the fish thrashed. 

“Oh, it's heavy.” Noctis complained, pulling to and fro. 

“Dude! It’s fightin’ you!” Prompto exclaimed, camera at the ready as he took shots of not only the fish, but Noctis’s concentration. 

As Noctis fought with the fish, it jumped from the water, an almost six foot long fish flailing in the air. “It’s massive! Is that-?” 

“The Noble Arapaima. I was wondering how long it would take before the ‘Liege of the Lake’ graced us with its presence.” Ignis spoke, eyes not on Noctis and his fishing but the book that was becoming the bane of Gladio’s existence. 

“This was,” Gladio shook his head, biting back the comment that came. “You planned this, you smug bastard.”

“Maybe I did. Maybe I didn’t. I thought you wanted a relaxing day of fishing.” Ignis looked up, the book simultaneously disappearing as his glasses were pushed up the bridge of his nose. 

“Well, either way, catch that thing! Come on Noct!” Gladio grumbled, excitement now rushing through his veins. 

“I’m working on it.” Noctis grunted, pulling, reeling and fighting the fabled fish. 

It took the better part of a half an hour, the large monster fish fighting against Noctis’s unrelenting pull. 

“That’s it!” The fish was finally close enough for Gladio to intervene, and it was tired. Without even a second thought, he found himself jumping into the water. In moments, the fish had given up the fight, and he was walking from the chest high water with the fish over his shoulder like a trophy. 

“This thing is massive!” Prompto exclaimed as Gladio tossed it down onto the dock and Prompto snapped some shots before tossing himself down next to it. 

“Perfect for a Yen tafo, I believe.” Ignis nodded, wide smile on his lips as his book snapped shut once more and he looked down at the beast. 

“Oh, and happy birthday Gladio.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I thought it was a cute way to spend Gladio's day, doing all the things he loves; reading, camping and n00ds (I also HC that Gladio is the one who taught Noctis to fish since SE said that it wasn't Regis who did so OBVIOUSLY it was Gladio). 
> 
> Yen tafo is a Thai version of a Chinese dish involving clear broth, silky wide rice noodles, fish balls, fried tofu, squid and water spinach. So, have some fish balls for your birthday big guy! 
> 
> I hope everyone is enjoying it and Happy birthday to the best boy.


	6. Ravatuogh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignis might actually be insane, and Gladio actually might like it. Who climbs Ravatough just for a soup? Also, did anyone not remember that Prompto was affraid of heights? Because Ravatough is tall.

“Okay,” Gladio grunted as he climbed up the steep incline, tossing a glance backwards to make sure the others hadn’t slipped off the edge of the mountain.    
  
“You are expecting us,” Gladio grunted, feeling his leg slip on the sand that covered the ground and ducked behind a rock to catch his breath. “To climb an active volcano to find a colossal bird to fight, and take its meat and eggs?” 

“That is the gist.” Ignis, who had been just a step behind him the whole time, came to rest next to him. How the man managed to stay composed in this growing heat was behind Gladio’s understanding. 

“You are absolutely insane, Ignis. Out of your mind.” Gladio laughed, shaking his head. 

“This is it!” Prompto exclaimed as he crawled to the rock, panting and out of breath. “This is really it this time guys. Did you know I’m terrified of heights? I’m gonna die, and this will be it. Don’t look down Prompto, don’t look down.”

“You’ll be fine, Prompto.” Noctis was last to the rock, a bead of sweat running down his temple as he took in a deep breath. 

“If Gladio’s maps are correct, it shouldn’t be too far now.” Ignis noted, starting back up the incline. 

It took almost an hour longer to finish the accent, but as soon as they did, everyone, excluding Prompto, stood in awe of the view. 

“You really can see all of Lucis from up here. This is cool. Too bad that climb would kill most people.” Noctis stood, looking out over all of Lucis. 

“Is that? That is totally Hammerhead, all the way over there!” Gladio pointed, the tiny speck in the distance. 

“Yeah, hey look, that’s the Vesperpool!” Noctis pointed North, the giant body of water much closer than Hammerhead. 

They spent another few minutes, pointing out all sorts of landmarks, the Nebulawood, Longwythe Peak, Cape Caem, and even Angelguard. 

“Okay guys, no rush, but I’d like to get down from this mountain sooner rather than later, if that’s like, a plan or whatever. I feel like a strong breeze is gonna send me plummeting to my death here.” Prompto called from behind a rock that he had taken to considering a ‘safe’ spot. 

“No worries, I believe the Zu’s nest isn’t too far from here.” Ignis called, directing them over a narrow land bridge that was in the direction of the peak of Ravatough.

“I really don’t like this.” Prompto whined, as they weaved through the trench-like passageways around and still further up. 

“You’ll be fine,” Gladio growled. 

“Hey isn’t that-” Just as Noctis spoke he suddenly slipped, and a chunk of rock broke away from under him. 

Gladio reacted, arm reaching outward, grabbing the prince by the wrist. However, the ledge they were standing on was compromised, and the chunk that Gladio was standing on crumbled followed quickly by the majority of the rock where they had just been. 

They slid, Gladio pulling Noctis into his chest as they tumbled into a gigantic pile of hay. “What the-”

Feeling the scrapes up and down his side, Gladio stood, making sure Noctis was okay before he looked towards Prompto and Ignis. He had just spotted them when a large bird came into view. It was diving towards them, and fast.    
  
“Shit that thing is huge! Duck!” Gladio yelled, tossing himself over Noctis to make sure that if the bird swiped at him, he would get the brunt of the damage. 

There was a tinge of pain followed by the swooping of wind, the bird barely grazing him. “Ignis, I swear, we make it out of this alive, I’m killing you personally.” 

~~~~

Gladio sat in the chair, Nocits taking a look at the now healing wound on his back as Ignis mended his shirt from the gashes in his favorite leather jacket. Gladio shook his head, a giant bowl of Soto Ayam in his lap. 

“I am going to need a vacation from this vacation. Please. Can you tell me what you have planned for tomorrow? Fighting giant octopus creatures?” Gladio groaned again, Noctis pressing into the raised red lines. 

“Uh, I’m with Gladio!” Prompto was slurping a mouthful of noodles as he spoke. 

“I don’t know what either of you are talking about. Today was thrilling!” There was a smile on the advisor's face that was almost terrifying in the campfire light.

“You know, Iggy. I’m glad you’re on our side. That’s all I gotta say.” Gladio looked down at the soup, surprised at how good the zu meat and egg was in it. 

Perhaps he wouldn’t admit it, but Ignis was right. One near death experience for a delicious noodle dish, maybe it was worth it after all. 


	7. Vannath Coast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 6 days of excitement and Gladio finally gets his 'day of rest'. I figured I tortured the poor birthday boy plenty that he deserved some fluff. Enjoy the Gladin Quay coast with the best birthday cake ever.

“Hey, wake up big guy.” There was something that was poking at him as he tried to sleep. Saturday was the day of rest, right? Let him sleep just one day. 

“Come on,” It was Noctis’s voice pulling at him from his sleep. What was Noctis doing up this early?

“Ughn,” Gladio rolled over, yawning as he saw the prince standing over him with a smile on his face. 

“Ignis has a surprise for you. Come on.” Noctis grabbed for Gladio’s wrist, tugging at it slightly. “Get up big guy.”

With no more large near invisible monsters or colossal fish from hell, at least none that Gladio could conjure in his recollection, what more was left of them here in Galdin Quay?

“Alright. Alright. I’m up.” Gladio grumbled, sitting up, and letting Noctis lead him out of the tent into the early light. 

It took a moment for Gladio’s eyes to adjust to the light, and in his currently shirtless state, the cool coastal air was causing his body to ripple with goosebumps. 

Once He did, he noticed that Ignis and Prompto were standing behind a folding table with a large, cup noodle? No that couldn’t be right. 

The object in question surely looked like a cup noodle, except for the fact that it was taller wider and ... had candles sticking out of it? 

Gladio blinked, staring at the object in question as the other three started singing to him. “Happy birthday to you.” 

It took him a moment, staring between the three of them, and then back to the ... cake. It had to be a cake. There was no way that Ignis had had time to cook this all week. Had the man made this, stored it into the armiger and hoped he didn’t go searching for it?

The detail, the exact placement of each letter, and the way it actually looked like noodles and veggies, it was an amazing feat. 

“Happy birthday dear, Gladio! Happy birthday to you.” 

“Is that a-” 

“Yes. It is a cake.” Ignis smiled, gesturing the man in closer. He was smiling, watching as Gladio came closer. 

“You expect me to eat that?” Gladio was awestruck, mouth agape. 

“I assure you, it doesn’t taste like noodles, or did I use noodles to make it, unless you would have prefered that?” Ignis turned his head slightly to the side, thumb and forefinger coming to his chin. 

“No no. I just, this? This is amazing Ignis!” Gladio looked from Ignis, to the cake, to the other two who were looking expectantly at Gladio. 

“Well, you gonna blow it out big guy?” Prompto smiled, ready to dig into the massive cake .

“Alright.” Gladio smirked, feeling a warmth pooling in his chest. 

“Don’t forget to make a wish!” Noctis chimed, hand nervously swiping a strand of hair from his eyes. 

The scene was perfect, Gladio saw the ocean, playing calmly only a hundred yards or so away. The noise was calming, and the smiles spread wide across all of their faces was too much for him to handle. 

Gladio took in a deep breath, letting the salty sea air fill his lungs as he wished that he could keep this moment forever. 

Letting out all the air in his body, Gladio blew out the candles, the wish in his mind firm as he smiled, happy with what it was. 

“What’d ya wish for?” Noctis smirked, moving up next to Gladio with a smile. 

“If I told you, it won’t happen, dork.” Gladio laughed, grabbing Noctis, and mussing his hair. 

“Alright! Lets eat!” Prompto looked at Ignis who folded his arms and shifted back on one foot. The look the man gave him could kill. 

“You will not be eating cake at nearly eight in the morning. Didn’t your mother teach you better?” There was, however, a smirk on his lips as he looked at him. “And besides, you can’t have any until the birthday boy gets his.”

“Well, If you are willing to destroy that piece of art,” Gladio shrugged, looking from Ignis to Prompto. “I'll take some cake for breakfast. 

“Oh, hold on!” Prompto cried, pulling his camera from the Armiger. “Gotta get a picture!” 

“Of course.” Ignis smiled, beaming down at the little sunflower. 

And that was how Gladio and company spent the most exciting week of camping ever. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Will be back tomorrow with Day Two/Chapter Two where I will be featuring the Nebula Woods. I appreciate all kudos and respond to all comments! Hope everyone is staying safe during this quarantine!


End file.
